Seven Minutes in Heaven
by iMgOiNgKrAzY
Summary: It’s my birthday, and I’ve been waiting forever for this. I’m not going to let a bit of embarrassment keep me from showing him my true feelings, am I? oneshot, HPHG


Finally, Hermione's birthday, the day she had been waiting for impatiently, would be upon her in a fortnight. Since November, she had had it all planned out. She knew exactly what food she would serve, who she would invite, and what games she and her guests would play. Now she just needed somewhere to have it.

It was a Saturday, and instead of doing her Potions Essay, as she usually would've done, she paced the hallways nervously, worried about her birthday. Had she planned everything perfectly, only to have nowhere to hold the bash? She passed several empty classrooms, far too many to count, and, though she looked in almost every one, none were right. They were all flawed, and Hermione was a perfectionist. If there were only one detail that was wrong about a certain room, it could not be accepted. She absentmindedly paced the floor, no longer checking the rooms, just concentrating on the mental images of her party being a disaster.

She looked up eventually, but it was too late. She had no idea where she was.

"Where am I?" she frantically asked the nearest portrait, which happened to be one of an annoyed artist. 

"How should I know? All I know is that my canvas has been wrecked by some sort of animal! My masterpiece has been ruined!" His wail was heard for several seconds after it was emitted from his dismayed mouth.

"I'm so sorry," Hermione apologized, though it wasn't her fault. But the damage had been done. Up and down the corridor, all the paintings were covering their sensitive ears and glaring at the fourth year who had caused their silence to be shattered brutally.

_Now I'll never find my way back to the Gryffindor Common Room,_ Hermione thought, devastated. Slumping against what she thought was a wall, she soon realized from the hollow thud from behind her that it was not. It was, in fact, a heavy wooden door. _Maybe I will recognize it_, Hermione hoped, despite the fact that none of the portraits in that vicinity were the least bit familiar to her.

She opened the door carefully, finding it unlocked. Inside, it was pitch black, forcing Hermione to light her wand to see anything. What came to her eyes disappointed her.

The room was bare. The walls were pure white, and, though it was large enough to hold Hermione's party, it was too boring for her. Plus, it still didn't solve either the problem of her not being able to get ahold of the items needed for her party, or the problem of her not being able to find her way back to the Common Room. She sighed, exasperated.

_I wish I knew the way back to the Common Room. _

A small poof of air exploding met Hermione's ears, confusing her.

"What was that? Who's there?" she whispered into the silence, afraid to speak any louder.

Suddenly, Hermione felt something appear in her left hand, out of nowhere. She quickly turned her wand to it, lighting the surface of a worn map. She gasped in surprise, and nearly dropped it. But, as she examined it closer, she realized that this map, one of Hogwarts, would indeed help her way back to the Common Room.

_But this won't help me. Hogwarts is constantly shifting. _

As she stared at the tattered parchment, it moved before her very eyes! This was a map that would change, along with the magical school! This would come very handy, indeed. As Hermione turned to leave, she stopped in her tracks.

_Wait. This map…it appeared after I thought about it! I wonder…._

Hermione glanced around the room, imagining it full of people, playing muggle games, such as "Twister" and "Spin the Bottle." She saw a refreshment table in her minds eye, so overloaded with food it looked about to collapse. There was a dance floor, with her friends dancing together and laughing, with lights flashing all around. And the stereo was humongous, blaring music that everyone loved.

In a flash, it came true. Everything Hermione wanted appeared. But then, she gasped. The music! Surely it would be heard, and someone would come to investigate! She dashed outside the heavy wooden doors, intent on running for the Common Room, but, once outside, she heard nothing but the complaints of the artist whose painting had been destroyed. She grinned happily, and knew that her birthday party would be the best in ages.

There he was, standing next to the refreshment table, and no one was around. It was perfect timing. Hermione walked over to him casually, and reached around for some chocolate covered cherries. So far, the muggle-themed party had been a hit. The music was blasting through the room, with everyone dancing and having a good time.

"Hello, Harry. Are you having fun?"

"Oh, hello 'Mione. Yeah, it's a great party. Happy Birthday. I wanted to give you this, but I didn't really want everyone to see you open it." He handed her a sloppily wrapped package, with the words "Happy Birthday" scrawled on there in that messy handwriting she loved so much.

"Thanks, Harry." She opened it carefully, her heart pounding loudly.

When the wrapping paper was torn away, she saw that it was a velvet box. Her hands shaking, she opened it slowly and clumsily. Inside lay a beautiful silver necklace. It had a heart on it, encrusted with rubies.

Hermione drew her breath quickly, holding it for several seconds. Finally, she let it all out, and tore her eyes from it.

"Is it real?"

"Yes."

"Oh, Harry!" She wrapped her arms around him, standing on tip-toe to reach him. He blushed and returned her hug.

"Glad you like it."

"Like it? I love it! Thank you so much!" She removed her arms from his neck, embarrassed.

"I'd better start the games," she muttered, staring at the floor, then running away to the microphone. **"Attention. The games will start in about five minutes, so I would appreciate it if everyone would gather in the center of the room in at this time."** In an instant, everything had disappeared. All the guests looked around, startled, but shrugged and gathered in the middle of the room, as ordered.

"First, we will be playing a muggle game called 'Seven Minutes in Heaven.' Here's how you play. One person stands in the middle, and chooses who they want to spend seven minutes in heaven with. Those two will go to the closet and stay in there together for exactly seven minutes. Inside, they may kiss, hug, talk, or do whatever they please, but there's a limit. Don't go crazy. At the end of the seven minutes, the next couple will go in, and so forth."

Everyone stared at her as if she were insane. Then, everyone broke out, the guys in whistles and laughter, and the girls in blushes and giggles. "Who wants to go first?" Hermione asked, blushing furiously.

Everyone muttered, staring at the floor, no one brave enough to venture in the dreaded closet first. Finally someone shouted, "You're the birthday girl. You go first!"

Hermione got as red as a tomato in the face, then nodded slowly. She turned around, looking each male in the face, pretending that it was a hard decision. But when she reached Harry, she couldn't delay any longer. She saw that his face was all red, too, and she hoped he had been wanting her to choose him. She walked forward, took hold of his hand, and walked through the crowd of people now whooping and catcalling. She waited for a second, then, when a door appeared, she stepped through it into a tiny broom closet. The seven minutes had begun.

At first, the two stood awkwardly, looking anywhere but each other.

_It's my birthday, and I've been waiting forever for this. I'm not going to let a bit of embarrassment keep me from showing him my true feelings, am I?_

Hermione looked up to find Harry staring at her. She blushed, but it was too dark for him to see. She stepped forward, only to find that there was a shelf directly in front of her face. She whacked into it, and fell backwards, crying out in pain. Harry reached forward and caught her, but ran into a shelf himself. He, too, fell back in pain. He released Hermione, causing her to fall onto a pile of cleaning materials.

"Argh!" Harry shouted, having stubbed his toe.

"Ow!" Hermione yelped, smashing her hand into the wall.

Harry wobbled forward to help her, forgetting about the shelf and slamming into it once more.

"Ouch!" He screamed, causing Hermione to duck (remembering the shelf) and come to his rescue. But on the way there, she discovered a certain cat's tail sitting in her way. She promptly stepped on it, causing Mrs. Norris to yowl with fury.

Hermione backed away, seeing the cat's evil glare, and ran into the wall behind her.

"Ow!"

"'Mione? Is that a cat?"

"Yes. It's Mrs. Norris."

"How'd she get in here?"

"I don't know. How does she get anywhere?"

The two stared at the cat wonderingly, forgetting one little detail; she was angry.

A hiss was heard, then the screeching of Hermione as she tried to pull the cat's claws out of her face.

"Harry! Help!"

He ran forward, the shelf once more slipping his mind. With a sickening crunch, he fell to the floor at Hermione's feet.

"Are you…ow…alright, Harry?"

A moan came in reply.

"I'm sorry…ouch! Get off me! Here, grab my hand!"

Harry reached for the outstretched hand, only to have Mrs. Norris dig her claws into his wrist painfully. He was in too much agony to even cry out.

Finally, they opened the door to let the cat out (or more like drop-kick her onto Neville's face), and slammed it shut, breathing heavily. The couple slumped against the wall, exhausted. Hermione was calculating in her head exactly how much time they had left. If she was correct, they had approximately two minutes left. That was long enough.

"Look, Harry. I like-"

She was cut off by a pair of soft lips brushing against hers in a gentle kiss. She melted in his strong, Quidditch arms, and kissed him in return.

But suddenly, the door was flung open, to reveal several pairs of curious eyes and many

voices shouting, "Time's up!"

Harry and Hermione pulled away, embarrassed, but it was too late. Everyone whistled and cheered, herding the pair out into the room. Hermione looked into Harry's eyes and smiled bashfully. He grinned in return and reached for her hand, leading her out into the circle.

"Happy Birthday, 'Mione," he whispered softly into her ear.


End file.
